Which city became the permanent capital of the United States under the Residence Act of 1790?

Washington, D.C., became the permanent capital of the United States under the Residence Act of 1790.

Congress passed the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, and President George Washington signed it into law. The act authorized a federal district along the Potomac River, with the precise location selected by Washington. The district was intended to provide a national seat of government independent of any existing state capital.

The law also arranged a temporary political compromise. Philadelphia served as the temporary capital while the federal district was being developed, and the national government moved there in 1800. The new capital was named Washington in honor of the first president.

The District of Columbia is a federal district rather than a state. Its boundaries originally covered land ceded by Maryland and Virginia, although the Virginia portion was returned in 1846. The capital’s location resulted from negotiations connected with federal assumption of state war debts, often called the Compromise of 1790.